Saturday, January 30, 2010

The windows are covered with bukken-harigami - cards with information on available apartments to rent.

Information included on the cards usually includes the distance from the nearest subway station or bus stop on foot, the rent, the size of the apartment or house and the facilities included.

Thus the apartment below on the left is 23 minutes on foot from Shiogamaguchi subway station in Nagoya, its a 1K apartment (one room and a kitchen), the rent is 42,000 yen, with a further charge of 3,000 to cover the shared cost of the elevator and cleaning of the apartment block (共益費; kyoekihi) and its facilities include cable tv, an aircon, veranda and shower.

Reservations: Not necessary but recommended and appreciated. Just show up to the party!

Over 25,000 Yen worth of exciting prize giveaways each month!

Black & White theme with special prize giveaway!!!

There will be free food along with free drinks (beers, wine, cocktail drinks and juices).Our party is not a dinner party, but we will have light food & snacks.Quantities are limited, so please come early! Please free to come alone or bring your friends.EVERYBODY is welcome to join regardless of nationality/gender. Reservation is greatly appreciated.About 125-150+ people are expected to attend. Approximately 55% female and 45% male, 70% Japanese and 30% non-Japanese.Pictures from previous Nagoya Friends Parties.

Map & Directions

Contact: 080-3648-1666(Japanese) 080-5469-6317(English)

Get off at Tsurumai Station (JR Chuo Line [South Exit] or Subway Tsurumai Line [Exit #4])

Nagoya City Public Hall (4th Floor, #7)

1-1-3 Tsurumai (2 minutes walk from Tsurumai Station)

Train Directions

From Nagoya Station from Nagoya Station take the JR Chuo-Honsen Line and get off at the second station (Tsurumai). From Tsurumai Station, get off at south exit

From Sakae/Fushimi Area, catch the Tsurumai Subway Line at Fushimi Station(bound for Akaike) and get off at the third (3rd) stop - Tsurumai. From Tsurumai Station, get off at exit #4

Thursday, January 28, 2010

A very common word using 片 is katatsukeru 片付ける. tsukeru 付ける means "to affix, join, apply, fasten," so, together with the "fragment" meaning of 片, the compound katatsukeru, or, literally, "join fragments," means to "tidy up," "be on top of (one's work)," "put in order," etc. Think "keep it together."

Katappashi kara 片っ端から means literally "from one edge/side" and, with its unspoken continuation of "to the other edge/side," has the dictionary meaning of "absolutely every little bit," "from A to Z."

側 or kawa means "side." Added to kata its k is softened to g, to make katagawa 片側 or "one side(d)." katagawa 片側 is used in the same way as its English counterpart in regard to one side of the street, for example, or a one-sided argument. Add the character 性 which has the same meaning as the English affix "-ness" to make 片側性 katagawasei, or unilateralism.

面 or men means "surface" or "side" as in the two sides of a record (as opposed to the two sides of a road, for example, which is 側 kawa). Added to 片 it refers to one side: 片面 katamen, e.g. 片面ディスク katamendisuku, or single-sided disk.

Those are a few applications of 片. Hope you can put the pieces together, get on top of it, and find more than just one way of using it.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

We recently received an email from our bank in Japan, alerting us of changes to accounts to go into effect in February.

In June 2007, the Japanese government implemented its "Basic Principles to Prevent Damages from Antisocial Forces." All members of the Japan Bankers Association agreed on the "JBA Agreement for Strengthening Efforts to Eliminate Racketeering" in July of the same year.

The regulations include the following:

Refusing dealings with criminal elements, defined as:

a.Boryokudan (organized crime): Organizations that encourage its members to engage collectively or habitually in violent, unlawful, etc., acts.

c.Boryokudan jun koseiin (quasi-members of Boryokudan): Parties who maintain relationships with, cooperate with, or engage in the maintenance or operation of Boryokudan by providing funds, weapons, etc., to Boryokudan or members of Boryokudan, but who are not themselves members.

d.Boryokudan kankei kigyou (organized crime-related companies): Companies run by members of Boryokudan, quasi-members, or former members of Boryokudan, that maintain relationship with, cooperate with, or engage in the maintenance or operation of Boryokudan by providing funds to Boryokudan or by other means, or those companies that actively use Boryokudan in doing business, etc., and cooperate in the maintenance or operation of Boryokudan.

e.Sokaiya (corporate racketeers): Sokaiya, Kaisha goro (corporate racketeers) and others who may potentially engage in violent, unlawful, etc., acts in an effort to seek illicit benefits from civil society and may threaten the safety of civil life.

f.Any other person relative to these or equivalent to any of the previous items.

2.When the customer himself or by using a third party commits any of the following acts:

a.Violent demand

b.Undue demand beyond legal responsibilities

c.Threatening behavior or using violent force regarding transactions

d.Damaging Citibank's credit or obstructing Citibank's business by spreading false rumors or by the use of fraudulent means or force

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Each year in Japan about 120,000 million plastic umbrellas are disposed of. In an effort to recycle some of that number, Nagoya has a scheme where you can pick up a plastic umbrella from a stand (below) and return it to a similar stand when you have finished with it.

The scheme began in June 2008 just before the annual rainy reason in Japan. The scheme operates around Meieki (Nagoya Station), Kanayama Station, Sakae, Shin Sakae, Imaike and Osu Kannon. A major promotor of the scheme is Nagoya city transport authority, who no doubt have to deal with 1000s of abandoned clear plastic umbrellas.

Monday, January 25, 2010

How's this for some smart parking? Right on the sidewalk in downtown Kofu in Yamanashi Prefecture. Pedestrians, old people, children? Let 'em hang!

Traffic rules in Japan are treated with contempt by a considerable number of drivers. Passing red lights, speeding, cycling into incoming traffic and drink driving are all common experiences on Japanese roads.

In an attempt to shock drivers into better behavior, the Japanese police keep a running count of the number of accidents and traffic fatalities outside major police stations.

Thus in the sign below, there have been 2,086 traffic accidents so far this year in Yamanashi (2009), 14 deaths and 2,784 people injured.

Some rules of thumb for surviving on the roads in Japan are to drive defensively, keep calm and don't lose your temper.

MOS (from the first letters of "Mountain Ocean Sun") burger began in the 1970s and one of its most popular meals at the outset was its "teriyaki burger" which combined a Japanese dish with the American hamburger.

MOS Burger now has over 1300 fast-food restaurants in Japan, with branches overseas in Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong. The company also operates the 80^C stores, MOS's-C, Mother Leaf, Mamedori, Shanghalichiba and Stefan Grill food outlets.

MOS made over 552 million yen in 2009 and is the second largest fast-food franchise in Japan after its rival McDonalds.

As well as hamburgers, MOS offers hot-dogs, fried chicken, fried potatoes, soup, desserts and a morning-set meal. MOS is also trying to diversify its menu by adding more meals aimed at the health-conscious.

MOS has its HQ in Shinagawa-ku in Tokyo and employs around 900 full-time employees, with the rest of the staff made up of part-time workers.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Japanese is rich in words that are supposed to sound like what they describe, i.e., onomatopoeia.

Today we're going to look at six Japanese onomatopoeia that describe the sense of touch:

But rather than giving an explanation of each, how about seeing if you can guess the meanings from the sounds? Don’t scroll right down to the bottom yet. First look at the following six pictures and on a piece of paper, write down what you think is the correct letter of each of the six onomatopoeia below against the number of each picture.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

One of the big recent successes of Japanese retailing has been Book Off. The company started during the recession years of the 1990s selling second hand books and CDs, and has now expanded into used furniture and interior goods at its B Life stores. B Kids and B Sports recycle children's wear and sports goods.

The company claims that over 200 million books are circulated annually through its over 1,000 stores (many of them franchises). Book Off has also gone international with outlets in South Korea (Seoul), France (Paris), Canada (Vancouver) and a number of outlets in the USA (New York, Hawaii, LA, San Diego).

Books are purchased at a tenth of the new price and sold at half of the new book price. After a certain amount of time if the book remains unsold it is moved to the 100 yen shelf.
The Shirokanedai branch of Book Off (Tel: 03 5475 5696) has over 40,000 foreign-language books starting from 200 yen. The mega-store, which is open from 10am-8pm, also incorporates a bakery and cafe. Take Exit 2 from Shirokanedai Station on the Nanboku or Mita Line of the Tokyo subway.

Founded in 1990 by Hiroshi Sato, Book Off has over 7,000 employees, the vast majority of them part-time workers. The company has its HQ in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

In parts of Kyoto in which there remain a large number of older private homes, you will often find odd address markings/advertisements.

The rectangular metal signs have literally been tacked onto the front of many homes. The top tells the passerby the street address - helpful in often signless Japan - and the bottom has the logo of the Jintan Corporation and its kanji rendering （仁丹）.

My daughter is a big fan of the signs - and the logo with its mustachioed 18th century (?) military man - and we count them on the bike ride into central Kyoto.

Jintan was founded in 1893 and still exists. Its headquarters are in nearby Osaka. The company makes, among other items, breath mints.

The signs pictured here were found in an area rich with Jintan signs: the old neighborhoods bordered by Horikawa on the east, Marutamachi on the south, Senbon on the west, and Imadegawa on the north.

The sign above right is on a stunning building that is still an operating factory. The characters themselves are a giveaway of when the sign was made and affixed to the building: they use old, more complicated kanji.

The sign below left is across the street and on a private residence. The only difference is the address - and the degree of wear and tear. In the background is the factory where the other sign can be found.

Monday, January 18, 2010

The Onsen Museum is an interesting break from enjoy the hot springs in Gero. The museum displays a number of water samples from onsens from all over Japan, as well as hot spring paraphernalia - bath salts, onsen tamago and water pipes - some of the latter dating back to the Edo Period.

You can learn how hot springs are formed and perform some simple experiments using the water from Gero's hot springs. For an extra charge there's even an ashiyu (footbath) out on the museum's veranda.

The museum is open daily (except Thursday) from 9am-5pm. Adults 400 yen; children 200 yen.

Friday, January 15, 2010

A long time Japanese friend of mine (originally from Kobe, now in Tokyo) has been a die-hard fan of the German guitar demigod, Michael Schenker, ever since I have known him. Till this week, the closest I had gotten to Michael Schenker was my “Lights Out” U.F.O. CD – bought upon my friend’s recommendation years ago. However, on Sunday he contacted me saying he had tickets to the 30th Anniversary Tour of the Michael Schenker Group, playing at Sun Plaza in Tokyo's Nakano ward.

The weather on Tuesday night was cold and drizzly. I went to Nakano straight after work, still in my shirt and tie. To my surprise, the crowd in front of Sun Plaza was huge. Not so much to my surprise, most present were in their late-30s or 40s.

Inside, Sun Plaza, with its seating for 2,222, was packed to the rafters with not a spare seat in sight. The entrance of the band caused a sensation. All stood, and no one sat till the lights went back on two hours later.

The MSG was in top form, and played with enormous energy and panache. The audience was hard core fandom from beginning to end, elderly men in suits and all pumping the air with their fists to the riffs and rhythms – with who knows what memories of good old days of youth and freedom flooding back.

The band came back for no less than two extended play encores. The notoriously temperamental Michael Schenker was in top form, even high-fiving the crowd at the front before his final exit.

These weird looking eggs are traditionally cooked in the waters of the hot spring. The eggs are placed in rope nets and left in the hot water for around 30-40 minutes - the low temperature heating causes the egg yolks to harden more than the egg white. The eggs are thus poached within the shells.

The eggs are usually eaten in a light sauce made of mirin, dashi and soy sauce with chopped spring onions sprinkled over the top. The image below is a model of an onsen tamago at the Onsen Museum in Gero.

Monday, January 11, 2010

"Shamanism is a path of knowledge, not of faith, and that knowledge cannot come from me or anyone else in this reality. To acquire that knowledge, including the knowledge of the reality of the spirits, it is necessary to step through the shaman's doorway and acquire empirical evidence."

Michael Harner, Ph.D.
FSS Founder and President
Author of The Way of the Shaman

Core Shamanism

Core shamanism is the universal or near-universal principles and practices of shamanism not bound to any specific cultural group or perspective, as originated, researched, and developed by Michael Harner. Since the modern world overwhelmingly lost its shamanic knowledge centuries ago due to political and religious oppression, the Foundation’s programs in core shamanism are particularly intended for modern peoples to reacquire access to their rightful spiritual heritage through quality workshops and training courses. Training in core shamanism includes teaching students to alter their consciousness through classic shamanic non-drug techniques such as repetitive drumming so that they can discover their own hidden spiritual resources, transform their lives, and learn how to help others. Core shamanism does not focus on ceremonies, such as those of Native Americans, which are part of the work of medicine men and women, persons who do both shamanism and ceremonial work.

During the Basic experiential workshop, participants are introduced to core shamanism, the universal and near-universal basic methods of the shaman to enter non-ordinary reality for problem solving and healing.

Particular emphasis is on the classic shamanic journey, one of the most remarkable visionary methods used by humankind to explore the hidden universe otherwise known mainly through myth and dream. Participants are initiated into shamanic journeying, aided by drumming and other techniques for experiencing the shamanic state of consciousness and for awakening dormant spiritual abilities, including connections with Nature. Practice includes comparisons by participants of their discoveries in shamanic journeys as well as being introduced to shamanic divination and healing. They are also provided with methods for journeying to meet and study with their own individual spirit helpers in nonordinary reality, a classic step in shamanic practice. Participants learn how the journey is utilized to restore spiritual power and health, and how shamanism can be applied in contemporary daily life to help heal oneself, others, and the Planet. Basic and Advanced courses to be continuously offered in Japan and Asia.

Saturday, January 09, 2010

A couple of weeks ago we looked at the phrase 手間 tema. Today we're going to look at the second of the kanji that form the word tema.

The character 間 is an essential one in everyday Japanese and with a wide variety of meanings.

Its Chinese-style reading (onyomi) is usually kan (but can, for certain meanings, be pronounced ken), and its Japanese-style reading (kunyomi) is aida or ma.

The fundamental meaning of 間 is "space between," "gap," "interval," "distance." However, it refers not only to space, but to time as well, meaning, also, "time between," "pause," "break."

Today we'll look at three very common uses of the character in Japanese.

1. 間も無く This is the ma pronunciation of 間, and the phrase here is pronounced ma mo naku meaning, literally, "without a gap/space." Its meaning in everyday Japanese, however, is "quite/very soon." You will always hear it at a Japanese railway station in the announcement Mamonaku densha ga mairimasu (word for word: "Soon train come", or, more idiomatically, "The train is about to arrive."

2. この間 This is the aida pronunciation of 間, and the phrase here is pronounced kono aida, meaning, literally, "this space."
Its meaning in everyday Japanese, however, is "last time," "the other day," or "recently." You will often hear, for example, Kono aida, domo or "Thanks for everything last time."

3. 間 The kan pronunciation is probably the most common usage of this character, but always in tandem with the period of time being referred to. "2 weeks" is ni shuu kan, ni being "2," shuu being "week" and kan being "space (of)." Likewise, "12 days" is juu ni nichi kan, "5 years," go nen kan, and so on. Read more about the intricacies of Japanese counting.

It is located on Karasuma Dori, south of Sanjo, in downtown. The building itself is grim in many ways.

First, it is not clear how the design of this brutal building is related to or represents ikebana.

Second, it is on a boulevard that once had many examples of Meiji Period architecture: elegant brick banks and insurance companies built in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Some of these have survived and have been renovated and reborn as restaurants, etc. Most however met the wrecking ball and were replaced by nondescript modern buildings - or, worse, by the likes of Ikenobo Headquarters.

Reservations: Not necessary but recommended and appreciated. Just show up to the party!

Over 25,000 Yen worth of exciting prize giveaways each month!

There will be free food along with free drinks (beers, wine, cocktail drinks and juices).Our party is not a dinner party, but we will have light food & snacks.Quantities are limited, so please come early! Please free to come alone or bring your friends.EVERYBODY is welcome to join regardless of nationality/gender. Reservation is greatly appreciated.About 125-150+ people are expected to attend. Approximately 55% female and 45% male, 70% Japanese and 30% non-Japanese.Pictures from previous Nagoya Friends Parties.

The Red Rock is located behind the Chunichi Building in the Sakae business/shopping district.

Subway access from Sakae Station (serving the yellow and purple lines) Exit 13. It’s a big station connected to a huge underground shopping mall so you’ll need to do a little underground walking.

We’re also just a couple of minutes’ walk from the Tokyu and Precede hotels, and a 10 minute walk up Hirokoji Street from the Hilton Hotel in Fushimi.

Train Directions

From Nagoya Stn. take the Higashiyama Subway line to Sakae Station (GET OFF at Sakae Station!!) Take exit #13 and then walk straight AWAY from Hirokoji-Dori for about 3/4 of a block. TURN LEFT Red Rock is on the right side of the street in the middle of the block. Look for the sign on the sidewalk.

Reservations: PrePaid spots are Guaranteed! Only 40 men and 40 women. Reserve and prepay to secure your spot.

Nagoya Speed Dating is a great way to meet new people in the Aichi, Gifu and Mie Areas! At Nagoya Speed Dating, you will receive a number, an assigned table, and a personalized Speeding Ticket form. When the host says to start you will have between 3 to 5 minutes to talk to the person at your table. When the time is up the host will give you a signal. At that time the men will change tables and the women will remain seated. All you have to do is mark your speeding ticket with a yes or a no for each person. At the end of the event, the tickets will be analyzed and Nagoya Speed Dating will notify you of your matches. After that you will also receive contact info for the people you have matched with. Nagoya Speed Dating is a safe, easy, and fun way to meet new people. Come check out Nagoya Speed Dating!

Map & Directions

Contact: 080-3648-1666(Japanese) 080-5469-6317(English)

Get off at Tsurumai Station (JR Chuo Line [South Exit] or Subway Tsurumai Line [Exit #4])

Nagoya Tsurumai City Public Hall, 1-1-3 Tsurumai

Train Directions

From Nagoya Station from Nagoya Station take the JR Chuo-Honsen Line and get off at the second station (Tsurumai). From Tsurumai Station, get off at south exit

From Sakae/Fushimi Area, catch the Tsurumai Subway Line at Fushimi Station(bound for Akaike) and get off at the third (3rd) stop - Tsurumai. From Tsurumai Station, get off at exit #4

Saturday, January 02, 2010

A little over a 2 hour drive from Nagoya city, Gero Onsen in Gifu Prefecture will have snow when there is none to be seen on the streets of Nagoya to the south. The kids wanted a snowball fight, so this seemed the logical choice to head for. Peaceful and relaxed Gero is an excellent place to unwind over the New Year vacation.

We stayed at Hotel Fujihara, south of the Hida River, a short drive west of JR Gero Station. Built in the 1960s, Fujihara is showing its age, rather grimy surfaces all covered with thousands of maneki neko cats. Insulation? Open your room door and an icy blast will sweep in from the valley outside. The bath, too, is a small affair, not much bigger than most bathrooms at home, but the water is piping hot and there are no curfews.

Fujihara's selling points are its price - just 8,000 yen a night including dinner and breakfast - and its excellent local food. Grilled river fish, local mountain vegetables and delicious ji sake. There is no dining room, so meals are served in your room.

From Nagoya Station or Gifu take the JR Takayama Honsen Line Wide View Hida express (tokkyu; 3990 yen; 1 hour 28 minutes) north to Gero or travel south on the same line from Takayama and Toyama (2 hours 16 minutes). By road, drive via Nakatsugawa on the Chuo Expressway and then turn off the highway on route 257.

Friday, January 01, 2010

Happy 2010 to all our visitors. It's the Year of the Tiger in 2010 and our nengajo (New Year's Card) shows the kanji character for the year of the tiger (寅; tora).

Join our Japan newsletter to keep up to date to all that is new on Japan Visitor for 2010.

E-mail us if you would like to receive the glossy New Year's card above (until January 20).
desk [at] japanvisitor [dot] com
Subject "new year card"
Just include your name and snail mail address, and we will promptly post it to you, written in beautiful calligraphy.